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November 14, 2015

Biggest-Ever Fast-Food Worker Strikes

Low-wage workers across the country are once again flexing their muscle and showing the power that comes from standing together for what’s right. Their fight for $15 an hour and organizing rights has reshaped the national conversation around income inequality and led to victories that once seemed unattainable. Companies are raising pay, local and state governments are enacting wage increases, and many voters around the nation will have a chance in 2016 to #VoteTheWage on ballot initiatives. NELP’s freshly updated report, The Growing Movement for $15, documents the $15 movement’s progress and sheds light on the workers affected:
• 42 percent of U.S. workers make less than $15—and they are disproportionately women and people of color;

• More than half of African-American workers and close to 60 percent of Latino workers make less than $15;

• The overwhelming majority—96 percent—of fast-food workers make less than $15 an hour;

• Nine cities and states have adopted $15 wages to date, and proposals are pending in more than a dozen others;

• There is growing economic evidence supporting $15 wages.

Moreover, recent polling released by NELP of low-wage workers shows that $15 an hour and union rights are issues that would drive unlikely voters to the polls. Candidates gearing up for the 2016 elections should take note of these workers’ urgent calls for change. At a time when Congress is stuck in gridlock, the Fight for $15 movement is a testament to the power of worker organizing and to the change that can occur when workers come together to demand what’s right.